


Gathering Pace

by Hannah



Category: Good Wife (TV)
Genre: Collection: Purimgifts Day 2, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-03-10
Updated: 2011-03-10
Packaged: 2017-10-16 20:43:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/169147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hannah/pseuds/Hannah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She knew there wasn’t any inherent grace in the aging process.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gathering Pace

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Gemmi999](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gemmi999/gifts).



Aging hurt, in the physical sense of the term. As relieving as Diane found it to leave menstruation behind as of last November, the eighteen-month-long transition process, up to and including cramps and hot flashes at the same time, had been the longest eighteen months of her life. It was easier when she reminded herself at least she’d been spared the insomnia, and moreover, it wasn’t a battle, but a question of endurance. She’d come out the other side stronger for the experience.

And it was true that aging was limiting. Children were one of the major arguments in that debate, if not the major one, a debate she’d had more than a few times decades ago, one she’d opted out of to avoid the whole mess. Leaving behind those possibilities wasn’t something worth losing sleep over.

She knew there wasn’t any inherent grace in the aging process. There could be, if done properly. She visited the boutiques and the salons, lifted weights, used moisturizer, took supplements, ate a balanced diet, got a dog. And sometimes she’d stop and look at her hands and give herself a moment to reflect. It was an incorrect, widespread assumption that aging with grace was an inborn skill. It wasn’t a guarantee.

Aging wasn’t precisely liberating, although it had its moments. There were more roles for women now than when she’d started her career; Alicia and Kalinda were living proof of that. Yet there was still a comparatively limited number. Men rarely knew how to handle women of any age in power, so that was nothing new to her. But women did know, and had different plans and strategies for every contingency. Leaving youth behind still kept her marked as a bitch. The difference was that now she could be the head bitch in charge, if she liked.

Old white male – two out of three wasn’t bad, and she’d gotten herself a corner office to boot. If she couldn’t join them, she might as well beat them.

  
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Thumbnail; click for full size.   



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